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Review: Netflix's docuseries 'Dogs'

Netflix’s latest docuseries ‘Dogs’ is about the affirmations of unconditional love. The ties that are made even without the declaration of promises. It’s an all-too-sweet concept that managed to work throughout its six hour-long episodes and one that strays more towards optimism than complications.

In each episode, we get to follow different facets of dog-man relationships. In ‘The Kid with a Dog,’ we are introduced to a young girl with epilepsy and a dog they hired who can spot events of seizures; ‘Bravo, Zeus’ is an escape mission of a dog in Syria; ‘Ice on the Water’ narrates the ownership of a dog as a member of a fisherman’s family; ‘Scissors Down’ documents the dog-grooming competition in America; ‘Territorio De Zaguates’ puts the spotlight on a dog sanctuary’s caretakers as they struggle to fit a thousand dogs (and more) in a limited space; and lastly, ‘Second Chances’ is all about the fostering operations of dogs that need an owner.

The way these episodes are structured, tells us how we learned to become dependent on the presence of dogs and how dogs feel the same way the other way around. They provide a specific type of comfort the human body cannot give: the compassion that doesn’t warrant any exchange. And this is why this show excels so much. It takes such a specific theme and transcends it to the different type of conflicts.

However, ‘Dogs’ isn’t an all sugar-coated series. It lets you know of the dangers of having dogs, and it also lets you know why it makes a lot of sense. These animals need more than protection, but the warmth of an owner. It stumbles at times when it focuses on too many subjects, resulting in a few episodes that felt aimless, but when it hits you, it will hit you hard. The episode ‘Bravo, Zeus’ exemplifies the things we need for a show like this: personal, eventful, and very compelling. ‘Dogs’ is now streaming on Netflix.